March 11, 2010- More or Less a Christian

Scripture to read today:
Deuteronomy 16; Deuteronomy 17; Deuteronomy 18; Psalm 38; Galatians 2

Scripture that spoke to me:
Galatians 2:9-10 In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. Their only suggestion was that we keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do.

Observation:
Paul is recounting his walk as a Christian and his growth in faith. He met Peter, and James and John and they accepted him. Paul realized that they all served the same Lord which made them all equals. They all also equally understood the importance of helping the poor.

Application:
Oh, how easy is it to think that we’re a better Christian than they are, or she is so much better than he, when in truth, we’re all just lucky to be God’s children! I hope I am growing in my faith and understanding, but that doesn’t mean that someone who hasn’t yet experienced the same growth is less of a Christian than I am. I wonder if there is even such a thing as being “more Christian” or “less Christian”? If you have Jesus in your heart, I am guessing that He doesn’t come in by doses- He is either in or He isn’t!

Prayer:
Lord, help me to stop judging others- comparing myself to them to see how I measure up. Let me instead focus on You and Your kingdom and all that I can do to further it. Amen.

March 4, 2010- Judging on Nothing

Scripture to read today:
Numbers 34; Numbers 35; Numbers 36; Mark 11

Scripture that spoke to me:
Numbers 35:30
“All murderers must be put to death, but only if evidence is presented by more than one witness. No one may be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

Observation:
These are part of the Lord’s instructions to the people of Israel. He gave them many laws concerning murder and what is to be done with a murderer. They were simple and clear. The ironic part in this is that Jesus was put to death on the testimony of no one. Those righteous religious leaders (who took much pride in upholding the law) broke one of God’s clearer rules.

Application:
Oh, but how much more do we convict people on less? We’re quick to judge based on appearance, on dress, on whether or not people have a nice car or wear designer clothes. So while I sit here seething that someone would dare to convict on so little evidence, I have to admit that I do the same thing, whether I want to or not. I make judgments based on lots of criteria. Hair color, weight, clothes, are only the beginning.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, help me to be slow to judge others. Let me see who they are inside and not let the outside affect my ability to get to know the good parts of them. Amen.

February 20, 2010- Listening to the Experts

Scripture to read today:
Numbers 7; Psalm 23; Acts 27

Scripture that spoke to me:
Acts 27:9-11
Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast. So Paul warned them, “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.

Observation:
Paul had warned the centurion about the dangers of sailing this time of the year. Storms were known to be strong and ferocious, but the centurion relied on the pilot and the ship’s owner instead of listening to Paul. Later, Paul gets to say in essence “I told you so!”

Application:
Who do we listen to? It seems to make sense that a potential passenger would rely on the ship’s crew to know if sailing was dangerous. We tend to turn to the experts for advice, too. But how often are they wrong? We need to make sure we’re getting advice from godly people, ones who spend time in the word and in prayer. And I’m not talking about advice about the weather, I’m talking about the storms in our life, the times that we are unsure if we’re going to make it through, or which way we should go. Listen to those who are grounded in the faith, not in the world.

Prayer:
Lord, send us godly people to rely on. Give us ones we can turn to who know You and Your Word. Amen.

January 17, 2010- One of Those Hard Things

Scripture to read today:
Genesis 42; Genesis 43; Psalm 5; Luke 17

Scripture that spoke to me:
Luke 17:3
So watch yourselves! “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive.

Observation:
I know the Bible tells us not to judge, but here Jesus is saying to call other believers on their sins. In that way, you are watching out for your brother and sister and helping them stay on the right path.

Application:
I have had a lot of problems with this lately. I have a friend who is not making good decisions and I’m torn between saying something (and potentially losing the friendship) and staying quiet. Jesus would say rebuke them- but it is hard! I need to find a way to do it that is kind and keeps the lines of communication open. I want to point out the errors but not act harshly.

Prayer:
Lord, show me what to do. Help me know what to say and when to say it so that Your will can be done and Your light will shine. Amen.

December 10, 2009- A Time to Get Involved, and a Time to Stay Away

Scripture to read today:
2 Timothy 1; 2 Timothy 2; 2 Timothy 3; 2 Timothy 4

Scripture that spoke to me:
2 Timothy 3:2-5
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

Observation:
This is Paul’s vision of end times- people who love themselves and chase self-serving pleasures instead of good, Godly people. He also adds a warning to stay away from these people.

Application:
I see so much of this in the world today. My friend, Susan, posted a picture of a sign in her blog today that disturbed me (click here to see it.) Things like this make me sad… all the lost people in the world. So why does Paul tell Timothy to stay away? Why can’t he take them the Good News? More than likely, it is because that rarely happens. Usually the good person who enters the nest becomes corrupt, too.

Prayer:
Lord, let me know when to speak up and when to remain quiet; when to get involved and when to stay away. Amen.

December 3, 2009- Love your Neighbor

Scripture to read today:

Romans 13; Romans 14; Romans 15; Romans 16

Scripture that spoke to me:
Romans 13:9-10
The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Observation:
If you love something you won’t kill it; if you love someone you won’t steal from them. That is why Jesus summed up the law in two commandments- love God and love your neighbor. He, however, didn’t tell us how to get to this love. If love is a feeling, how do you get that feeling for everyone? I’m going to say that love is not a feeling. Love exists with many other feelings. You can love and still be sad. You can love and feel grief. You can love and be happy. If love exists over the spectrum of feelings, then love must not be a feeling- it must be a state of being that comes from living with Jesus in your heart.

Application:
I wonder how many times we feel something and call it love? I know lust gets mistaken for love. I am sure that happiness and gratitude often fall in there, too. What would happen if we viewed everyone we came across as our brother or sister? That person who just cut you off in traffic- if he were your brother, would you have graciously let him in front of you? The world changes when you look at everyone with the love of God.

Prayer:
Lord, this sounds good but in practice it is nearly impossible to do all the time. Please help me to remember that we are all Your children, especially when I am frustrated at others. Amen.

November 8, 2009- Guesses and Gossip

Scripture to read today:

Job 33; 1 Corinthians 1; 1 Corinthians 2; 1 Corinthians 3

Scripture that spoke to me:
1 Corinthians 2:11
No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.

Observation:
I’m seeing two different things in this- 1) that we can’t really know another person, in their innermost thoughts, and 2) we can only know God through the Holy Spirit.

Application:
The first thought leads me down the road of gossip. I really like knowing what is going on, but try to stay away from gossip, or at least treat it as a theory and not a fact. Because you truly never know exactly what motivated a person to do something unless they tell you. I don’t know why the Ft. Hood shooter shot all those people- and there sure have been a lot of guesses- but unless he tells us, that is all we have. Likewise, unless we know God, we don’t understand what motivates Him to do the things He does. We can guess, but without the understanding that only His Spirit can provide, we will never truly know.

Prayer:
Lord, help me to remember that we really don’t know people unless they want us to. Likewise, we only know what You have revealed to us. Help us not to take our guesses- our gossip- as fact. Amen.

September 20, 2009- Making Good Laws

Scripture to read today:

Daniel 5; Daniel 6; Psalm 130; Luke 3

Scripture that spoke to me:
Daniel 6:16-18
So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.”  A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles, so that no one could rescue Daniel. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night.

Observation:
King Darius has been suckered into making a law that sounded good at the time but wasn’t turning out to be as good as he thought. He didn’t intend for his top man to be punished for it.

Application:
I know many times as a mom, I’ve issued a decree that I’ve been forced to have to hold to, even when the outcome wasn’t what I envisioned. I’ve prayed a lot for our leaders lately- we have some heavy issues on the table and I hope they are given the foresight to look at the long term effects of these issues.

Prayer:
Lord, guide our leaders toward making smart judgments and laws. Don’t let the greed, the comraderie of the party, or the pride of the individual stand in the way of making laws that are good not only for the people of our country at this time, but for our country a century or more from now. Amen.

August 26, 2009- Check Your Sin at the Door

Scripture to read today:

Jeremiah 50; Jeremiah 51; 3 John 1

Scripture that spoke to me:
1 John 3:9-10
I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

Observation:
All should be welcomed in the church. Diotrephes is certainly not the last person who has not been welcoming of others. John calls this evil, and reminds his friend to show hospitality to men so that they may work together for God.

Application:
I have heard countless stories from friends about how they were not welcomed, and in some cases, shunned from the church. I had an experience once with a lady who called the church trying to get her ex thrown out. She ended up mad at me (which was ok) because I wasn’t going to do anything! He was living with a girl he was about to marry- living in sin according to her- and why wasn’t the church letting them come? My reply was that we don’t check sins at the door. Everyone who comes to church sins, and if we only let the righteous in, there wouldn’t be anyone here!

Prayer:
Lord, help  us all to realize that everyone has their problems. Church should be a safe haven- where we can come to try to get back on that narrow path, and not a place that judges how far we fell from the path. Help me, help my church, help us all to realize that none of us are better than anyone else, and we’re all saved only through the grace of Jesus. Amen.

August 3, 2009- Not to Please Me

Scripture to read today:
Nahum 1-3; John 5

Scripture that spoke to me:
John 5: 30
By myself I can do nothing. I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

Observation:
This is Jesus speaking on his own return and the judgment that will come. God has given Jesus the authority to judge because he is the Son of Man, and he will judge righteously.

Application:
How right we would all judge if we were judging to please God and not ourselves! I know I tend to judge people based on earthly standards. In many cases, I cannot see people’s hearts to judge them on a heavenly basis. But that is not my place. It has to be left to the One who CAN see their hearts. I also have to remember that He is judging my heart, too.

Prayer:
Lord forgive me when I rate people by earthly standards. Help me to remember that we are all One in You. Amen.